


The Greatest Gift of All

by bygoshbygolly



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Body Horror, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2019-02-01 03:29:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12696381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bygoshbygolly/pseuds/bygoshbygolly
Summary: Kuroo finds Bokuto at an awkward moment, and things begin to make sense.Written for SASO '17





	The Greatest Gift of All

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt:  
> "dude, don't you kind of need your heart?"  
> "not really. look this is terribly awkward and not at all how i wanted to tell you. but it really is okay. it was something i was planning to give you anyway."

Kuroo stopped in the doorway of the bathroom. Fragments of past conversations flew, unbidden, to the forefront of his mind.

\--  
“It's weird, right?” Bokuto said, squinting at the heart-shaped box of chocolates. “Valentine's Day is all about love and hearts and stuff, right? And chocolate. But this doesn't even look like a real heart.”

“It's just a symbol, isn't it?” Kuroo shrugged. “They don't always make sense. And why do we have this conversation every year?”

“Because it's weird,” Bokuto insisted, putting the chocolate box down. “Real hearts look much cooler.”

Kuroo wrinkled his nose, as much for the statement as for the fact that _this_ is the biological fact Bokuto cares about, rather than “practicing with an injury will only make things worse” or “eating too much will give you a stomach ache.”

\--  
“This is going to sound really stupid and sappy,” Bokuto said, tipping his head back to rest on Kuroo's shoulder, “but I kind of want what my parents have. You know. Romantically. To love someone and know that my heart is their heart and their heart is mine.”

Normally, this was the kind of comment Kuroo would jump on to make a joke about, but there was a tender wistfulness to Bokuto's voice that made him bite back anything inappropriate. And Bokuto's parents did love each other a lot, to a degree that was almost unnerving. It made sense that Bokuto would want something like that, too. 

A pang went through Kuroo's chest. Did Bokuto not feel like that about him?

“It is a little sappy,” he replied, voice cheery. He kissed Bokuto's ear. “But it sounds nice, too.”

\--  
A month ago, the two of them running to the train station in a surprise rain shower. Kuroo was faster, and he looked back at Bokuto and laughed, and Bokuto laughed back and suddenly brought a hand to his chest. He'd stopped, standing in the rain and soaking wet, clutching at his shirt above his heart.

“You ok?” Kuroo asked. Bokuto looked at him, and he looked as happy as he looked when his team won a game, even though it was just the two of them.

“Yeah,” Bokuto replied. His smile turned dopey; he sounded like he was going to burst out into laughter again, any second. “Never better.”

\--  
Just little moments, nothing really worth commenting on in the grand scheme of things, but standing in the doorway to their bathroom, seeing Bokuto, shirtless, red incision in his chest and a human heart in his hand, looking caught-out and guilty, Kuroo began to put some of the pieces together. 

The picture those pieces made was an impossible one, but given what Kuroo was seeing and the fact that Bokuto frequently seemed to defy the realms of possibility, Kuroo accepted it. Still.

“Uh, dude, don't you kind of need your heart?” Kuroo asked, trying to sound casual. “To live, I mean?”

“Um, not really?” Bokuto scratched at his neck sheepishly. His heart looked bright and vital, and he cradled it gently. Kuroo couldn't see any blood, but the heart kept beating anyway. Strange. “I mean, most people do, and I probably shouldn't like, drop it or anything, but I only was able to take it out last month and I just...I keep having to see if it's real, you know?”

“Your parents can do it too, right?” Kuroo hazarded. Bokuto nodded.

“Yeah! It's like...for some people, they fall in love, real love, I mean, like...forever-love, and then they can take their heart out so they can give it to the one they love.” Bokuto frowned. “It sounds weird when I say it.”

“And you feel that way about someone now?” Kuroo felt a rising giddiness, so strong he almost felt sick.

“Uh huh! This isn't how I wanted you to find out, you know. I wanted to do something big and romantic. But I guess this is ok, too.” Bokuto thrust his hand at Kuroo. “Here, it's yours.”

Kuroo blinked at the sudden appearance of a nervously beating human heart under his nose. Bokuto was looking at him though, eyes wide and vulnerable, and so he resisted the urge to step back and instead took Bokuto's heart carefully in his own hands. It felt too light to be something this important.

“Thank you,” he said. It sounded stupid and inadequate. He looked from the heart back to Bokuto. “I can't do the same, I don't think. My parents never told me about anything like this. I'm sorry.”

“It's all right,” Bokuto shrugged. “I mean, it would have been nice, but I know you'll keep my heart safe.”

Kuroo nodded. He could feel a freak-out coming on at the enormity of what was happening, but this wasn't the time for it. This was an important moment, one that meant the world to Bokuto, and to him, and he needed to make sure this went well. 

“I will,” he promised. He stepped into the bathroom. “I'll put it in my favorite place in the world.” He made sure Bokuto's heart was secure in one hand and reached out with the other to open the incision on Bokuto's chest. Carefully, aware of Bokuto (his eyes, his breath, the wound in his chest that didn't bother him, the weight of his heart), he slid Bokuto's heart back where it came from. He vainly tried to smooth the cut closed, only stopping when Bokuto's hand came up to rest over his.

“I love you,” Bokuto murmured, his eyes bright and wet.

“I love you, too,” Kuroo smiled, a little wobbly, and leaned in to kiss him. “Forever and ever.”


End file.
